Be Random

One thing I'm learning about photography is that you don't always have to take stereotypical photographs.  You don't need a sunset, a beautiful landscape, a flower, people, or anything else that you would typically see in a photo to take an interesting shot.  If you're bored, try to make something ordinary interesting by photographing it.  Something as simple as a pen on a desktop or the texture of a blanket can be turned into an attractive photograph.  The ability to take a picture of anything at anytime will help you avoid having to wait around for something to inspire you.

However, there are tricks to this kind of photography.  If you take a picture of a Diet Coke can, it could end up being remarkable or remarkably dull depending on your technique.  You have to put some thought into the angle and staging of your photograph in order to make the photo intriguing.  I can't really give a step-by-step lesson for this type of photography because it varies so much depending on the subject of the photograph, but my main advice is simply to think outside the box.

Here are a few examples of random photos that I have taken.  Many of these were taken either when I couldn't find anything particularly inspiring outside or when I was in an especially creative mood.  Again, these are just a few examples of the millions of possibilities for random photography.

I got bored in my dorm room, so I took a picture of my tennis shoes.

My mom's old Chi Omega figurine from when she was in college.

An old Dr. Pepper bottle from the 1970's. 

A light fixture and window at the Nebraska State Capitol Building.

It occurs to me that most of my examples are pictures of inanimate objects, but that's not what it has to be.  It's difficult to define "random" photographs for obvious reasons.  I guess "creative" or "artistic" photography might be a better word.   In other words, be random, be creative, and be artistic when taking photographs.  Sometimes we all need a break from the same old flower and landscape pictures.